Letter from a Customer in Sante Fe, CA

I was thinking a bit about audio manufacturers and wanted to send an email to express how much I appreciate and respect companies such as Transparent Audio. Audio is certainly a hobby, but it is also is an investment. I’ve attached a few photos of my system including the extensive use of Transparent in my interconnects, speakers, and power products.  I certainly have invested both time and money in this hobby. I’ve also met many wonderful people along the way and one of the enjoyments is to have an opportunity to meet high-level manufacturer’s representatives, such as yourself, and even owners/developers. Not only am I able to learn more about the products, but it is wonderful to learn about business models, history, manufacturing, personalities, etc.

At this year’s CES and the recent RMAF, I learned that many manufacturer’s I have done business with have or are releasing new and improved products. However, I only feel that Transparent ... invest(s) back in their end-users. It is refreshing to deal with a company that not only produces some of the finest products of their type, but also provides ongoing support for their end-users through an upgrade program. This shows the value Transparent places in their products and customers.

Although I have met many people in the industry, Transparent is at the top in customer service. Any time I’ve called Transparent, I felt like I’m treated like a valued customer ... regardless of the reason for the call.

Email from Carl Smith to Robert Moody

Sergei Prokofiev

Email from Carl Smith to Robert Moody, Music Director of the Portland Symphony Orchestra

Dear Robert,

Never before have I heard live or on records as fine a performance of the 5th symphony as what I heard tonight.  The enormous size of the orchestra, the density and complexity of the orchestration, and the vast range of dynamics pose a unique challenge that you and the orchestra overcame triumphantly.  I was especially impressed by the rhythmic pace you maintained throughout, the clarity you brought to the extremely complex first movement, and the masterful transition at the end of the finale where Prokofiev seems to be snubbing his nose at the Soviet artistic police---not quite as obvious as the last bars of Ives' 3rd symphony but I'm pretty sure the intent was the same.  In each case the composer was declaring his independence from conventional artistic standards even while demonstrating his mastery of them.

My sincere congratulations on an outstanding concert.

All the best,

Carl Smith

Brad and Carl Attend Boston Symphony All Wagner Concert

On March 22^nd Brad and Carl attended a Boston Symphony all Wagner concert.  Great seats had been arranged by Peter Ayer, a Transparent cable fan, and his cousin Neil Ayer.  The first half of the concert consisted entirely of Dawn and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey and Siegfried’s Death and Funeral March from Gotterdammerung played without any break. 

View from the stage after the concert

 The stage had been extended about eight feet out into the hall to accommodate the huge Wagnerian orchestra.  Daniele Gatti, who is one of the leading candidates to be the new Music Director of the Boston Symphony, brought out the great power of the orchestral climaxes.  It was thrilling to experience peaks close to 100 db without a trace of distortion or sense of strain.  In one passage these very loud climaxes alternated with moments of complete silence to very dramatic effect. 

Neil Ayer (left), Michelle DeYoung (center)

In the second half of the program we heard the Overture to Tannhauser, the Prelude to Lohengrin, and vocal selections from Parsifal and Tristan and Isolde sung by mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung.  The performance was supported by the Ethan Ayer Vocal Soloist Fund and Ethan Ayer’s nephew Neil had arranged for us to meet the soloist and the conductor in the artists’ room backstage at the end of the concert.

We had excellent visits with both Ms. DeYoung and Maestro Gatti, who uses Transparent cable in his personal sound system in Italy and was very enthusiastic in his praise for Transparent products.  Both the concert and the visits backstage afterward were experiences to be treasured.